Half Baked Pottery Trip with My Sisters

I scored a Living Social coupon for Half Baked Pottery in Broad Ripple. My sisters and I decided to make an evening of it complete with dinner and some window shopping ... such a fun night with two of my favs!

Half Baked Pottery, a paint-your-own pottery studio, encourages people to visit the studio for a creative pottery experience. The studio offers classes and is also open to the public during set hours. You start by choosing a plain piece of pottery then grab a seat at one of the tables, choose your paints, stencils and paint brushes and let the creativity begin!

I chose to paint a notepad holder and my sister chose a cute frog kitchen sponge holder - other options included plates, vases, figurines, mugs and more! Prices varied, but I have to say prices seemed a bit high. The notepad holder was only $18, which includes the studio time, paints, firing, etc., but some of the plates and bowls and such were $30-$40 of more. Our Living Social deal entitled us to two $17 items, so we paid a bit extra to paint these items that cost more.

The process was fairly intuitive and the possibilities of design are endless. There are shelves setup with paint and paint chips for selecting the right color and a number of tools such as dotters and permanent pencils. The tables are stocked with brushes and glazed tiles for which to squirt the paint. A water bowl is available on the table for cleaning brushes as well.

I decided to paint the background of my notepad holder light blue-gray and add thin tree branches with birds. I have actually painted this theme before for paintings that I did for my bedroom, and I thought it would translate well on this notepad holder.

The paint dried very quickly, within a couple of minutes. You could easily layer colors and complete the piece within an hour or two.

My sister's froggy turned out adorable - she choose a green speckled paint for the outside and a berry color for the inside of the mouth. She used the dotter to create the perfect eyes - it turned out soooo good!

I was also happy with the way my piece turned out - the little birdies resting on the branches complimented the angles of the piece, and I added a few single birds to the inside of the holder for an unexpected surprise thanks to the suggestion of my other sister who elected not to paint a piece. The studio seemed to encourage a social environment and welcomed the three of us even though only two of us were paying customers.

Once you complete your piece, the studio adds a glaze and fires it. The piece is typically ready for pick up within a week. Here are the pieces after the glaze and firing. These steps really enhance the designs and colors and seal the paint for protection.

I loved sharing this creative experience with two of my best friends! We shared design ideas, gave each other pointers and had some laughs. We also had a tasty dinner at the Monon Food Company prior to painting and did some window shopping to complete the evening. I love my sisters!

 

This experience will likely be one that I don't have the opportunity to experience often, but I will have a memento to keep for a long time. I can see this activity being fun for a group of friends or an individual. There were several children there painting as well - fun for the whole family. The studio had a very casual vibe. The price can be a bit high but considering the time you can invest in the activity, the fact that you create something to take home and its overall uniqueness, it is well worth it!

First Watch 2.8/4.0

Following the Monumental Yoga event on the Circle in downtown Indianapolis, my sister and fellow yogi stopped for a bite to eat at First Watch.

First Watch is apparently a franchise, though we did not know that when we chose it. There are 3 in the Indianapolis area - downtown, East 86th Street and Carmel. All the food is made to order using the finest and freshest ingredients possible. They pride themselves on leaving a freshly brewed pot of coffee at your table, the choice to share food and FREE newspapers and Wi-Fi among other things.     

The cafe we went to sits right off N. Illinois Street near W Ohio Street, and is adorned by an awning. The windows are stenciled with the words "breakfast" and "lunch" and a sidewalk sign features the days specials. It's super cute from the outside!

Inside we were greeted by a friendly gentleman who promptly sat us in a booth near the windows on looking the sidewalk. The decor of the restaurant was pretty standard, nothing too fancy. There were simple booths, and it was minimalistic. The specials were written on a big black chalkboard and containers of grass acted as dividers between some booths.

 

We unfortunately had a lot of time to check out the atmosphere because we sat in the booth for about 15 minutes before a server ever approached us. Let's just say the service was lacking a bit. It was slow and haphazard.

BUT, the service was eventually overcome by the delicious food we were served. It was flavorful, fresh and original. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch ... The breakfast menu looked incredible but it was lunchtime - we might have to hit this place up for breakfast sometime too. The menu described the dishes well and had appetizing photos throughout. The also had corky silverware wrappers like the ones below.

I decided to get "2 for You", a combination of a half sandwich and salad. I chose the Pecan Dijon salad  which was comprised of chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato and carrots with cheese and warm honey dijon dressing and the Monterey Club - turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, choose and mayo on multigrain.

The salad dressing was rich and like nothing I had ever tasted and the sandwich was hearty and fresh.

My sister went with the Santa Fe salad - Cajan chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado, cheese and Santa Fe dressing with ciabatta toast.

She commented immediately on the freshness of the ingredients and enjoyed the salad very much ... the bread looked delicious too! I wanted to steal the bread for my own!

Here is how this experience stacks up based on my 1-4 rating system - 4 being the best:

Food: 4
Fresh ingredients; original offerings - not just your average sandwich or salad; hearty; large portions ... overall DELICIOUS!

Atmosphere: 2.75
The location, awning, chalkboards and comfortable vibe of the cafe suited the breakfast and lunch restaurant well. Nothing too special when it came to decor.

Price: 3
Large portions for the price. The "2 for You" offerings were under $8. The full-sized salad was around $9.

Uniqueness: 3
It was evident that the food was fresh and made to order - you don't see that too often. The silverware wrappers were a touch of whimsy. The items listed abov,e such as a fresh coffee pot at your own table, free newspapers and such, added to the uniqueness.

Service: 1.25
Unfortunately the service was bad, more importantly SLOW. If you want great food and aren't in a hurry, this would be a nice choice.

Overall Average: 2.8
The overall score is above average thanks to the food - did I mention it was DELICIOUS! The overall experience wasn't terrible, but the service definitely brought down the score. It is a cafe worth trying though!

I would recommend First Watch for a Saturday or Sunday breakfast, brunch or lunch. The food isn't what you think of when you think of a chain restaurant. It is truly fresh and unique.

Monumental Yoga on the Circle

Have you ever done yoga on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis with 1,000+ other yogis?

I have ... and it was so much fun!

 

Yogis in Indianapolis came together today, Friday, June 20th, to celebrate Indy's love for yoga and the summer solstice in an event called Monumental Yoga on the Circle. Participants laid out their yoga mats and followed instructors through sun salutations. It was a free event from noon to 1 and donations were taken to benefit Growing Places Indy and Y12SR.

 

Instructors from several local yoga studios gave instructions over a microphone to all of us who braved the heat to make this a monumental event! It was hot yoga at its finest!

 

It was such a beautiful day for this event - the sun was beaming down - so appropriate for the occasion. It was surprisingly super relaxing even though we were in the heart of the city. There was a live electric violinist playing in background. I somehow tuned out the cars, city noise and hustle and bustle of downtown Indy - I was in tune with the nature around me, relaxed and in the moment.

 

I have to admit yoga has not always been my thing - it took me a while to really appreciate the art form. My idea of exercise has always been competitive, action packed sports, but once I started researching yoga and its effects on mind and body, I began to really love it. Yoga is peaceful, though it can be super challenging. Yoga effects parts of my body that my daily fitness routine does not - I can push my strength and flexibility to their limits all while relaxing my mind and clearing my head.

This event was a great way to practice yoga in a nontraditional location - challenging each of us to let our breath take over and eliminate the distractions around us. It was a site to see so many people gathered in one location sharing a love for yoga and healthy living. I live for this kind of stuff!


As the Monumental Yoga tagline goes, breathe, find your center and enjoy time with friends! ... Mission accomplished!


Check out the Indianapolis Star for more pics, http://www.indystar.com/article/20130621/LIFE02/306210082/Monumental-Yoga-draws-hundreds-synchronized-sun-salutation.

How to Make a Diaper Stork

Nothing says Baby Shower like a Diaper Stork!

I have made a few of these Diaper Storks for both baby showers and as gifts for new mothers ... if you have been following my blog, you know I have been going baby shower crazy lately! The idea falls along the same lines as a diaper cake or one of those more complex diaper tricycles, but a Diaper Stork is a bit quicker and easier to create and the final product is just as adorable!

All you need to create a Diaper Stork is a receiving blanket, diapers, ribbon and a bit of creativity to create a paper stork. In this case, I was creating three Diaper Storks for upcoming showers.

To begin, fold the receiving blanket just short of the width of the diapers. Place a stack of 10 diapers in the center of the blanket. I have also made a double-wide Diaper Stork by putting 2 stacks of 10 diapers next to each other in the center of the blanket. 

Then, gather the ends of the blanket and secure them with a ribbon.

Create a stork out of cardstock. I prefer to hand draw my storks though you could also design the stork on the computer. Decorate the stork by either coloring or painting it. This is where you get to be creative - decorate as much or as little as you want. You could add a 3D eye or puffy paint to add dimension ... the possibilities are endless! In this case, I colored the storks in with colored pencils. I chose colors that complimented the colors of the receiving blankets and added a bit of pattern to the storks' top hats.

Lastly, attach the stork to the bundle of diapers by punching a hole through the top hat and threading the ribbon through the hole.

This is a simple project that won't break the bank. Plus, the time and creativity put into the personalized creation is sure to make the new mother feel special!

 

 

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog if you like what you read - simply submit your email address in the field above to begin receiving my blog posts via email.  

Couples Baby Shower Ideas

Nothing is sweeter than a baby girl, and I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to throw a couples baby shower for my longtime friend, Emily, her husband Tommy and their future baby girl!

My friend, Tiffany, and I planned and threw this couples baby shower - neither of us had thrown a couples shower before, so we had to challenge ourselves to think out of the box. We didn't want to make the shower seem to girly, even though the couple is having a girl. We were conscience of the fact that both women and men would be present at the shower - we wouldn't want the men to feel uncomfortable with too much girl talk or too many frills!

I think this gift received by the couple appropriately summed up the tone for this couples shower and was perfect for the sports loving dad ... "I watch ESPN with my Daddy" with a tutu booty and football leg warmers! A perfect gift for a shower that involves both the mom and dad!

The Theme
To start planning, we determined our theme, with the couples help. A cookout with yard games seemed like the best option for our co-ed guests. But, we, of course, couldn't have thrown a baby shower without baby-related invitations, games and décor!

The Invitation
The design of the invitation was simple and contemporary - a bit abstract ... The icons spell out "Baby Shower For Emily and Tommy". I designed using the colors from the bedding the couple had chosen for their little girl, but stayed away from bows, flowers and the super girly stuff since this is a co-ed shower. I love the look of this invitation! 

The Décor
We didn't need to do too much in terms of décor for this shower, since a large part of it was held outside. Tiffany tackled a beautiful diaper cake for the main kitchen table that turned out perfect! I think she needs to go into business for herself.

The Food

Since we were having a cookout, the food was pretty easy to plan - hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, cheesy potatoes, veggies and dip and chips. Tiffany also created these adorable cupcake bouquets! She baked the cupcakes and attached them to a styrofoam ball sitting in a pot using toothpicks.

 

The Activities
We decided to have two activities - no games. Since people were going to be busy playing yard games, eating and chatting, we didn't find it as appropriate to play games.

Baby Wishes
You may have seen a similar idea from one of my earlier blog posts ... we created cards with pre-printed text and blanks, and we had the guests guess the baby's name (since the mom and dad aren't revealing it yet), predict the due date, weight and length, and write a wish to the new baby. We compiled the filled-in cards and bound them with a jump ring. I nice memento for the baby book!

Late Night Diapers
The second activity involved writing a message to the parents on diapers. The idea was to leave a comforting or funny message on the diapers that the parents will use to change their new little girl - something to help ease the pain of multiple diaper changes, especially those late at night. We filled a basket with diapers and wrote out two example diapers to give the guests some ideas to get started. We then passed around diapers and sharpies and the guests wrote their messages.

There were several cute messages ... like the ones below. The guests seemed to enjoy coming up with jokes and sayings for the diapers. I think this game turned out super cute!

The Favors
As favors, we filled small baby bottles with skittles and tied a little tag around them thanking the guests for coming to the shower. I was able to utilize elements of the invitation design for the tags.

Overall, our first couples shower was a success. By keeping it casual and keeping our guests in mind, we were able to celebrate the parents and their future baby girl in a way that made everyone feel welcome.

I look forward to meeting this new little one in July. I am so happy that these two deserving parents are being blessed with a sweet little girl, and I know they will make such wonderful parents!


Giving credit where credit is due: I found the Late Night Diapers idea at http://www.drivenbydecor.com/2012/08/four-fabulous-baby-shower-games.html

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog if you like what you read - simply submit your email address in the field above to begin receiving my blog posts via email.

Brewery Tours of Indianapolis / 30th B-Day Party

A 30th Birthday Celebration calls for good friends, good beer and a Brewery Tour of Indianapolis!

To celebrate my friend Heather's 30th Birthday, we booked a brewery tour through Brewery Tours of Indianapolis. The tour bus, which holds 20 people, picked up our group at Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company in Broad Ripple and drove us to 4 Indianapolis breweries - BIER Brewery, Black Acre Brewing Co., Flat 12 Bierworks and Fountain Square Brewing Co. - over a 3.5 hour period. The cost was $30 per person for the transportation, unlimited bottled water on the bus, complimentary cooler space for chilling growlers and a goodie bag which included a glass, koozie, coaster and sticker.

Even though our bus was a bit late picking us up, the tour proved to be a great way to celebrate a birthday. We decorated the bus, brought on food and drinks and were all able to enjoy ourselves without the worry of a DD. The tour set-up everything with each location we visited - all we had to do was show up ready to party!

Our first stop was BIER - this small brewery has been in business for 2.5 years. They sell their beer in many local restaurants and bars but do not package for sale in liquors stores.

 

We were greeted at the door when we arrived at the brewery and were instructed to have a seat while they explained a bit about the brewery and described the 4 beers that we sampled. The public can go to the brewery and purchase growlers and starting mid-June, they will be opened on Saturday nights as a bar selling pints. The staff did a great job detailing the flavors of the beers, making small talk with us and promoting their business, which unfortunately none of us had heard of. The beer was good, but the staff really sold us on this brewery - it was a great place to start our tour!

Our second stop was Black Acres taproom in Irvington. The brewery is a small 3 barrel (93 gallon) electric brewing system. They focus on brewing specialty and seasonal ales, with a few being offered regularly. This location had a more refined feel, a trendy yet homey atmosphere.

 

 

As opposed to the previous location, this bar offered flights for purchase as a way to sample their beers. A few of us split a flight of 8 of their beers. I discovered a really liked some of their darker beers that had a hint of a coffee flavor. My favorite was Architect’s Breakfast (Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee Stout), an American style stout infused with coffee beans from Daterra Farms and roasted by BJava, aged in rye whiskey barrels for over 4 months. The staff was nice, and they offered a large variety of beer - there was definitely something for everyone at this stop.

 

 

Stop 3 was Flat 12. This was the most well-known brewery that we visited. The brewery consists of a 20 barrel DME brewhouse and a floor of fermenters and brites, accompanied by two 120 barrel fermenters outside the building. They offer five house beers, four seasonals and some ‘select’ beers for special promotions and/or monthly exclusives. Their beer is sold in many liquor stores and bars. The location we visited had a simple set-up - a small bar with taps and a really nice outdoor patio area with lots of seating and corn hole.

 

 

Being our third stop, it was nice to grab a beer and sit outside and enjoy it! Again, you had to purchase your own drinks here, but they did give samples to help you make your choice. I had the Walkabout Pale Ale - it wasn't my favorite drink of the night, but it was worth trying!

 

 

The final stop was Fountain Square Brewery, opened in the summer of 2011. A great last stop due to the relaxed atmosphere which included hula hoops and couches for lounging. We had a great time playing with the hula hoops and chatting about the day's events. The brewery had a large taproom with a glass wall looking toward the brewing area. I sampled the Preacher's Daughter Amber Ale and the Hop for Teacher Pale Ale. They were pretty tasty!

 

 

The bus dropped us back off in Broad Ripple after our tour was over. I am glad we implemented this idea for celebrating Heather's b-day. This adventure was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience, a bit out of the norm and a perfect way to celebrate any occasion! You can also sign up for a tour individually or in small groups, you just simply reserve tickets online.

 

I believe it was worth the money and more importantly an excellent way to explore the ever expanding micro brewery market in Indianapolis.

 

I am glad we were able to pull off this amazing night for an amazing friend's milestone birthday - she deserves it!

Part II: Elephants and Birds and Babies - Oh My!

You may recall an earlier post featuring baby shower invitations and nursery art that I designed for a friend ... Well, I had the pleasure of designing the baby showers invitations for that friend Dodie's second baby shower as well and to support her mother in throwing an adorable party by planning games and some of the decor.

Dodie is having twins so the baby shower was appropriately themed as "Celebrating 2 Babies on June 2nd at 2pm". We wanted to incorporate this tag line into an invitation that also reflects the twins' nursery decor - which is where the navy, blue and white, chevron pattern and elephants and birds came from.

 

As opposed to the previous invitation that I designed, based on generally the same guidelines, this invitation has a more contemporary feel, whereas the first baby shower invitation had a more traditional feel. I used text as design in this invitation, emphasizing the 2-2-2 to represent the twins and reinforced the twins concept by including twin elephants and twin birds. I used yellow, again, as a pop of color against the navy, gray and white color scheme. The reverse side of this invitation detailed the date, time, location, etc. of the shower over a gray box laid over the navy and white chevron-patterned background.

I can't say I really prefer one of the elephant invitations over the other, but I loved the challenge of designing two invitations for two different showers using pretty much the same guidelines all while making them unique. How did I do?

 

 

I didn't want to produce a product for one client that had the exact same flavor as a product that I had created for another client. While elements from the two invitations are shared, I approached the design of each with the individual shower themes in mind and was able to create two successful designs to celebrate this wonderful occasion!

The Shower

This baby shower was adorable. Dodie's mother did a fantastic job on the food, decor, favors, etc. Lemonade and tea were served in mason jars with ribbon tied around them; single flowers in bright yellow sand buckets adorned each table; and a stunning elephant cake was the centerpiece of the kitchen.

 

 

Check out the favors - I was asked to create these cute, little tags that said "Thank You for Celebrating our Little Peanuts" to go along with the bag of peanuts handed out as favors! What a great idea for favors to go along with the elephant theme!

 

We also created this balloon entry leading guests to the front door, and it turned out super cool! We attached helium balloons to nails and pressed the nails into the ground. We had a bit of an issue with the wind though, the balloons were blowing all over the place, practically attacking guests as they walked up to the door. And we lost a few to the sky as the shower progressed! Overall, it was a cute way to mark the house at which the shower was being held for those driving by. Of course, we have to attribute this idea to Pinterest!

 

The Games

My friend Tiffany and I were put on game duty. I think we came up with a nice mix of games that the guests really seemed to enjoy!

Game #1 was titled "Things 'N Pairs". Guests were given 3 minutes to write down as many pairs, or things that come in 2s, that they could ... notice how this goes along with the twins theme! The guests came up with some really good answers ... we gave them a few hints to help get the ball rolling too! Examples of things in pairs are shoes, socks, earrings, twins, drumsticks, hands, eyes, gloves, Twix, dice, cuff links, lungs, wings, crutches, speakers, windshield wipers, headlights, skates, knitting needles. The winning guest came up with 24 pairs.

 

 

Game #2 was titled "TV Children". Each guest was asked to match a list of TV show titles with the name of a child featured in that show. The child's name is the character's name, not the actor's real name. We chose TV shows, both current and past, in a number of genres. We also included a tie breaker question in case multiple guests got all of the answers correct. This game was fun and proved to bit a bit challenging. There was only one person who got all of the matches correct!

 

 

Game #3 was titled "Baby Wishes". This was more of an activity, not a game since there was no winner. Each guest was given a 8.5X5.5" card with pre-printed copy and blanks. The guest filled in their guess as to when they thought the babies would be born, the weight and length of each baby and wrote wishes for the babies and advice to the parents. Each card was collected and bound with jump rings, along with a title card, and given to the mother. The book is intended as a keepsake for the parents, something for the baby book. It is both amusing and personal and a great gift to the new parents from those who love them!

 



 

 

 

This baby shower was classy and fun! I am honored to have been a part of yet another celebration for my friend and her little ones!

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog if you like what you read - simply submit your email address in the field above to begin receiving my blog posts via email.